Memory devices are employed as internal storage areas in a computer or other electronic equipment. One specific type of memory used to store data in a computer is random access memory (RAM). RAM is typically used as a main memory in a computer environment, and is generally volatile in that once power is turned off all data stored in the RAM is lost.
A static random access memory (SRAM) is one example of a RAM. An SRAM has the advantage of holding data without a need for refreshing. A typical SRAM device includes an array of individual SRAM cells. Each SRAM cell is capable of storing a binary voltage value that represents a logical data bit (e.g., “0” or “1”). One existing configuration for a SRAM cell includes a pair of cross-coupled devices such as inverters. The inverters act as a latch that stores the data bit herein, so long as power is supplied to the memory array.
In a case of long bit lines, a write operation usually limits the SRAM frequency. Further, in a six-transistor (6T) SRAM cell, precharging the bitlines to full rail is necessary to avoid a potential read failure. Precharging the bitlines in a precharge phase usually requires approximately ⅓ of the total cycle time. In other SRAM cell configurations (i.e., an eight-transistor (8T) SRAM cell with dedicated write bit lines), there is no need to fully precharge the bitlines to full rail.